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FROM LAST NIGHT: Sometimes the personal can trump everything else. At the end of a long day. Hosni Mubarak did not go because Hosni Mubarak did not want to go. It is now up to others -- people whose incredible bravery I can only admire from a distance -- to make this happen:

Mubarak’s speech was a striking reminder of the capacity of dictators to fool themselves and see themselves as indispensable. If he thinks that his softer tone will win any support, he’s delusional. As he was speaking, the crowd in Tahrir was shouting “Irhal!” or “Go!” And the Egyptian state media — from television to Al Ahram, the dominant newspaper — have been turning against Mubarak, so he’s losing control even of his own state apparatus. An Arab friend of mine who has met Mubarak many, many times describes him as “a stubborn old man,” and that seems exactly the problem right now. Suleiman just spoke as well, praising Mubarak and asking the youth of Egypt to go home and stop watching satellite television. Only possible conclusion: he’s delusional, too. The regime seems so out of touch as to be almost suicidal.

It was interesting that Mubarak tried to push the nationalism button and blame outside forces (meaning the United States) for trying to push him out. That won’t succeed, but it’s actually beneficial to America, giving us credit for siding with people power that I don’t think we actually deserve.

I know some liberal friends would disagree with me but I thought the Obama administration did not come off well today -- especially when CIA chief Leon Panetta (I'm not a big fan) opened his yap and all but predicted that Big Mu would be out of there. Given the CIA's dark history in the region, they should never talk about any ongoing regime change unless they want the opposite of what they're saying to happen.

On that note, have a great weekend, if that's possible without football or baseball.